The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including other oil-producing countries, has agreed to reduce the production of nearly 10 million barrels, aiming to boost the plummeting prices due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

This was according to energy officials from other countries. Mexico’s energy minister said that OPEC agreed to cut exactly 9.7 million barrels a day.

OPEC and other countries have approved Mexico to cut only 100,000 barrels a month, according to a report.

They reached agreement before Asian markets reopen on Monday as international benchmark Brent crude traded at just over $31 a barrel.

However, this was not the situation in March as OPEC failed to reach an agreement on production cuts, causing problems on oil prices. This was due to conflicts between Saudi Arabia and the United States of America.

In addition, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told state television that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would cut another 2 million barrels of oil a day, aside from the OPEC deal to help rebalance markets. However, the three markets did not immediately acknowledge the cut themselves.

“The minister of Saudi Arabia said that the Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE agreed to reduce more two million barrels than the agreement voluntarily,” Zanganeh said. 

“We hope that the market returns to a balanced way,” he added.